Essential grammar for todays writers, students, and teachers

Essential Grammar

for Today’s Writers, Students, and Teachers

This innovative and affordable resource is designed for writers, language students,
and classroom teachers who need an accessible guide to essential English grammar.
Without becoming mired in detailed linguistic definitions, Nancy Sullivan helps writers
understand and apply grammatical concepts to develop the skills they need to enhance their own writing.
She clearly explains English grammar basics, using a highly practical, hands-on approach to mastering
the use of language. While the text focuses on word classifications and how each word class functions in
sentences, Sullivan provides examples and exercises that are contextually grounded in engaging discussions
of language development. Online instructor materials provide teachers with additional suggestions and
activities designed to enhance these basic grammar lessons.
“Nancy Sullivan’s Essential Grammar for Today’s Writers, Students and Teachers achieves what few grammar
texts accomplish: it presents its subject in a thorough, yet accessible style and format to vanquish any
fears students and teachers may have about learning and teaching this timeless topic. The text includes
examples that appeal to a range of audiences and alleviates the traditional assumption that the parts of
speech and the way we use them is a mystery to be mastered only by experts. This book will remain a
valuable reference for its readers long after a course has ended. In other words, it is indeed essential.”
—Kristine L. Blair, Bowling Green State University
“Nancy Sullivan’s text provides a fresh, clear approach to grammar for students in all disciplines, particularly
future language arts teachers. Beginning with and building on the basics and working through verbal
phrases and dependent clauses, Sullivan methodically explores the way English works. This reasonably
priced book includes virtually all the concepts needed for teaching English grammar. Teachers will
appreciate its streamlined approach—less reading and more doing is always good in a grammar class.”
—Elizabeth Ruleman, Tennessee Wesleyan College
Nancy M. Sullivan teaches grammar and linguistics at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, where she
has been a member of the English Department for over twenty years. Her research on the intersection of
language attitudes and identity has been widely published. Sullivan’s keen interest in and avid study of grammar has been inspired by her students, who continue to spark her curiosity with their insights and questions.

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Essential Grammar

for Today’s Writers, Students, and Teachers

Nancy M. Sullivan

Routledge

Taylor & Francis Group

NEW YORK AND LONDON


First published 2015
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Simultaneously published
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Taylor & Francis
The right of Nancy M. Sullivan to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him/her in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the

publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are
used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Sullivan, Nancy, 1949–
Essential grammar for today’s writers, students, and teachers / by Nancy Sullivan.
pages cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-7656-4174-8 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. English language—Grammar. I. Title.
PE1112.S85 2014
428.2—dc23 2014018403
ISBN: 978-1-138-85702-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-7656-4174-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-71865-1 (ebk)
Online resources for adopting instructors, including additional instructors’ materials, are available at:
www.routledge.com/9780765641748


For my mom, who always encouraged me to write a book,
although she was not expecting the main characters to be
nouns, verbs, and dangling participles,
and
for my sister Gail Sullivan Eakright (1947–2009),
a longtime educator, talented artist, and best friend.


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Contents

Preface............................................................................................................xi
Acknowledgments.........................................................................................xiii
Introduction................................................................................................... xv
Commonly Used Abbreviations.................................................................... xxi

Chapter 1 / Word Classes..............................................................................3
Language Focus: Language and the Brain.......................................................3
Nouns...............................................................................................................4
Adjectives.........................................................................................................7
Determiners........................................................................................9
Articles..................................................................................9
Demonstratives.....................................................................9




Quantifiers............................................................................9

Possessives..........................................................................10
Numbers..............................................................................10


Descriptive Adjectives......................................................................11

Pronouns.........................................................................................................13


Personal Pronouns............................................................................14

Reflexive Pronouns...........................................................................15



Demonstrative Pronouns..................................................................16



Indefinite Pronouns...........................................................................18

Verbs...............................................................................................................21


Three Simple Verb Tenses................................................................23



Auxiliary Verbs.................................................................................23

The Perfect..........................................................................23
The Progressive...................................................................24


The Perfect Progressive......................................................24

Modals................................................................................25
vii

viii

Contents
Adverbs..........................................................................................................26


Adverbs Modifying Verbs................................................................27

Adverbs of Manner.............................................................27



Adverbs of Time, Place, and Frequency.............................28

Adverbs Modifying Adjectives and Adverbs...................................29

Prepositions....................................................................................................31
Conjunctions..................................................................................................33


Coordinating Conjunctions...............................................................33



Correlative Conjunctions..................................................................34

Interjections....................................................................................................36
Chapter Review..............................................................................................36

Chapter 2 / Extending The Basics............................................................41

Language Focus: The Sounds of Language...................................................41
Extending Nouns............................................................................................42


The Pronoun Substitution Test.........................................................43



Noun Phrase Appositives..................................................................46

Extending Prepositional Phrases....................................................................49


Adjectival Prepositional Phrases......................................................51



Adverbial Prepositional Phrases.......................................................54



Prepositional Phrases Versus Phrasal Verbs.....................................57

Extending Verbs with Active and Passive Voice............................................59
Extending Conjunctions with Conjunctive Adverbs......................................65
Chapter Review..............................................................................................67

Chapter 3 / Sentence Patterns..................................................................71
Language Focus: Sociolinguistics..................................................................71
Verb Classes...................................................................................................72

Linking Verbs...................................................................................72

Intransitive and Transitive Verbs......................................................76
Intransitive Verbs................................................................76
Transitive Verbs..................................................................77
Sentence Patterns............................................................................................80

Linking Verb Patterns.......................................................................80


Intransitive and Transitive Verb Patterns..........................................83




Contents

ix

Intransitive Verb Pattern.....................................................83

Transitive Verb Patterns.....................................................84
Chapter Review..............................................................................................91

Chapter 4 / Verbals: Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives.....................95
Language Focus: Language Acquisition........................................................95
Gerunds..........................................................................................................96

Identifying Gerunds..........................................................................96
Tests for Gerunds..............................................................................98

Pronoun Substitution Test...................................................98

Possessive Subject Test.....................................................100

Verb Conjugation Test.......................................................101
Participles.....................................................................................................105



Identifying Participles....................................................................107
Punctuation of Participles............................................................... 111


Differences Between Gerunds and Participles...............................114
Infinitives......................................................................................................116

Identifying Infinitives.....................................................................117

Infinitives as Nouns........................................................................118



Infinitives as Adjectives..................................................................119
Infinitives as Adverbs.....................................................................121

Adverb Infinitives Modifying Verbs...................................121

Adverb Infinitives Modifying Adjectives...........................122
Chapter Review............................................................................................124

Chapter 5 / Adjective, Adverb, and Noun Clauses...............................129
Language Focus: The History of English.....................................................129
Adjective Clauses.........................................................................................132



Relative Pronouns...........................................................................132
Adjective Clauses with Relative Pronouns


“Which” and “That”....................................................................133
Relative Pronoun “Which”...............................................133

Relative Pronoun “That”..................................................135

Adjective Clauses with Relative Pronouns

“Who,” “Whom,” and “Whose”..................................................137
Relative Pronoun “Who”..................................................137


x

Contents

Relative Pronoun “Whom”...............................................138
Relative Pronoun “Whose”..............................................140

Punctuation of Adjective Clauses...................................................143
Adjective Clause Quirks.................................................................146

Relative Pronoun Deletion................................................146

Adjective Clauses with Relative Adverbs..........................148
Adverb Clauses............................................................................................149

Subordinating Conjunctions...........................................................149



Adverb Clauses Modifying Verbs..................................................150
Adverb Clauses Modifying Adjectives and Adverbs......................152

Adverb Clauses Introduced by “That”.............................152

Adverb Clauses Introduced by “Than”............................156
Noun Clauses...............................................................................................158

Noun Clause Slots..........................................................................158

“That Type” Noun Clause...............................................................160

“Wh– Type” Noun Clause..............................................................164
Chapter Review............................................................................................169
Answers to Exercises...................................................................................171
Hyperlinks....................................................................................................205
Glossary.......................................................................................................207
Index............................................................................................................219
About the Author.........................................................................................229


Preface

The purpose of this book is to make basic grammar concepts and terminology accessible to future teachers who will need this knowledge for their own classrooms.
The book is also designed to help students who are not pursuing teaching certification gain more insight into how sentences are structured, along with the important
punctuation rules that support those structures and clarify meaning.
Most students start my grammar course with limited instruction in grammar
and find the idea of an entire semester of studying grammar rather intimidating.
Current textbooks often assume that students already know basic grammatical concepts and terminology; as a result, most books are too advanced and include much
more material than can be covered in one semester. Essential Grammar for Today’s
Writers, Students, and Teachers provides a semester-long course book that does
not assume a strong background in grammar.
In addition to its focus on the basics, this book adds an intriguing layer to the
study of grammar: linguistic topics provide context for the grammar concepts.
At the beginning of each chapter, a Language Focus box introduces a linguistic
topic that supports the grammar examples and exercises. This replaces inane, disconnected examples (e.g., “Sally threw John a ball”) with a linguistic thread that
connects all of the chapters.
The linguistic topics also provide fodder for further conversations. For example,
in Chapter 5 on clauses, the topic is the history of the English language. The exercises and examples span 2,000 years of the formation of our language—it’s all
about who invaded the big rock and what languages they brought with them.
Additional information about the linguistic topics and links to related websites

can be found in Did you know? boxes. For example, in Chapter 5, there is a link to
a rap version of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, along with a translation into
Modern English. In Chapter 3, which discusses the sounds of language, there is a
link to a short and funny segment from CBS Sunday Morning that gives examples
of female celebrities using “vocal fry,” a creaky voice affectation heard among
some young women.
Some of the Did you know? boxes directly support the grammar concepts being
discussed. For example, the popular Bruno Mars song “When I Was Your Man”
shows how the past form of a verb sometimes is used rather than its past participle
xi


xii

Preface

form: “I should have gave you all my hours” versus “I should have given you all
my hours.” Listening to the song to find this usage brings the discussion of verb
forms to life.
The additional information in the Did you know? boxes can be used to stimulate classroom discussion or it can be ignored, depending on the time and interests
of the instructor and students. Of course, as a linguist, I tend to be biased about
the linguistic topics, and I am convinced that readers will find them interesting and
relevant as well. At the very least, I expect that they will gain a better understanding of language as a by-product of their grammar study.
As speakers of English, students already know a lot about grammar and language, so it is often a matter of helping them connect that knowledge to the structures and terminology used in this book. In fact, the key to understanding grammar
is to explore grammatical forms in terms of their function. Therefore, we look at
what the words, phrases, and clauses are doing in the sentence (function) rather
than what these elements look like (form). By examining words, phrases, and
clauses in context, students learn to assess the grammatical functions that these
forms perform in a sentence. This helps them understand that grammar concepts
are not static entities.

In this book, I provide both traditional and contemporary grammar terminology
and definitions. When future teachers enter their own classrooms, they may find
the traditional terminology still being used in other textbooks. Therefore, I feel it
is important to equip them with the language that they will need to be able to work
with a variety of texts.
The instructors’ website is a rich resource of creative and engaging activities
that support students’ learning of grammar, such as grammar bingo. Also included
are pedagogical suggestions that can be used to help students connect grammar
to their own texts. For example, at the beginning of the semester, I ask students
to write a “Grammar Literacy Paper”—a personal essay in which each student
reflects on his or her own grammar journey. This paper is used throughout the semester to explore the grammar concepts that we are discussing in class. Activities
related to this initial assignment are available on the website.
Finally, I hope you will agree with me that this book offers writers, students,
and teachers relevant and interesting insights into language while exploring essential grammar terminology and punctuation. Please feel free to email me with
your comments and suggestions. My email address is available on the instructors’
website.


Acknowledgments
First of all, I would like to acknowledge and thank Suzanne Phelps Chambers,
Executive Editor at M.E. Sharpe, whose belief in and commitment to the project
made this book possible. Simply put, it would not have happened without her. I
would also like to thank Brianna Ascher, Editorial Coordinator, and the rest of
the staff at M.E. Sharpe who participated in the production of this book. I’d particularly like to thank Laura Brengelman, Assistant Managing Editor and Project
Editor. As a result of her meticulous editing, she not only made this a better book,
she taught me how to be a better editor and writer. Her enthusiasm, guidance, and
patience kept me focused throughout the process.
Thank you also to my longtime friend Andreas Jozwiak, whose constructive
comments gave important feedback from a student’s point of view. Additionally,
the Paul and Mary Haas Foundation provided support through a generous fellowship that enabled me to complete this project.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge my husband, Wes Adkison, for his unwavering support during this lengthy project. His absolute belief in the need for this
book and his confidence in my writing it kept me steadily moving forward.

xiii


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Introduction
Most likely, there are a variety of reasons why you are reading this introduction
and taking a grammar course. The course may be required for teacher certification or a degree in English, or you may be convinced that a good foundation in
grammar is essential for your career. My goal in writing this book is to provide
you with the basics of English grammar that you will need to address grammar
questions in your own future classroom or workplace. As a result of your grammar study, I promise that you will develop a stronger “metalinguistic” awareness
(the ability to reflect on and analyze language) that will support better reading
and writing.
I have taught grammar for more than twenty years. When I first started to teach
it, the course’s goal was to provide a review of grammar for students pursuing
primary or secondary teaching certification. But I found that my students, both
then and now, often had little or no experience with grammar terminology and
concepts prior to taking the class. (So much for the course being a review!) Many
students have reported that their primary and secondary school teachers avoided
discussions of grammar. If grammar was addressed at all, their teachers appeared
to be less than comfortable with the material.
Part of the problem stems from the status of grammar as a classroom subject,
which has been controversial over the past forty years. After a report in the 1970s
argued that grammar had little to no value in developing writing skills, the subject
was dropped from the curriculum in many schools. Now that students of that era
are in their own classrooms teaching, they tend to avoid grammar because they do

not have the background or confidence to teach it.
I don’t want to spend time debating the various viewpoints; however, it is important to note that there is a great deal of new research underscoring the value of
grammar in the curriculum to support reading and writing. A rich resource on this
debate (and suggestions for teaching grammar) is the website which contains articles from some of the top educators in language and writing studies.
I decided to write Essential Grammar for Today’s Writers, Students, and Teachers with my students in mind. Most are pursuing certification in TESOL (Teaching
English to Speakers of Other Languages), elementary language arts, or secondary
xv


xvi

Introduction

English. Knowledge of basic grammar is particularly important for future classroom teachers. Instructors and their students need a shared vocabulary to communicate clearly and effectively about their texts. In addition, based on recent
research and my experience as an educator, I am convinced that understanding
grammar enhances our ability to both write and read.

Descriptive Versus Prescriptive Grammar
Introductions to grammar books typically describe their approach to the study of
grammar as either prescriptive or descriptive. A prescriptive grammar is grounded
in rules found in traditional grammar handbooks, such as “Never end a sentence
with a preposition” (why not?), “Don’t start a sentence with a conjunction” (it’s
legal!), and “Don’t split an infinitive” (what does that mean?). A descriptive grammar aims to describe the system of grammar used by native speakers.
In the field of linguistics, all dialects are considered legitimate forms of communication. In the real world, however, we all know that people judge some dialects
as “better” than others. The term “Standard English” generally is applied to the
dialect spoken by educated speakers; “Nonstandard English” can be described as
dialectical varieties that follow other rules. Some dialects are stigmatized as being
“incorrect” or “bad” English, to the point where speaking such a dialect can limit
an individual’s career opportunities. My South Texas students often talk about how
extremely self-conscious they are about their “bad” speech, but generally, it is

simply their accent and not their usage of grammar that is being pointed out as
“different.” Nevertheless, years of criticism have left a mark.
Take, for example, the use of “be” in African American English, as in “I be late.”
This usage would be considered nonstandard, even though it cleverly expands the
Standard English form of “be” (“I am late”), which is also used in African American English. I know a number of highly educated people who use nonstandard
forms when they speak (most often unconsciously); however, when they write academic texts, they use Standard English. I soon learned not to mention this inconsistency in usage to friends—they tend to get very defensive (I wasn’t criticizing,
really).
Some grammar books claim to be purely descriptive and not prescriptive, but
the differences between the two approaches are not that clear cut. In this book, I
often point out the traditional definitions of terms and prescriptive rules because
many of those are still used in language arts books. I also point out that “use” and
“rules” can differ; for example, would you use the word “whom” at a party with
your friends just because you’re educated? Only if you wanted to be referred to as
a show-off or a snob—or worse. So, even though I fall into the descriptive camp,
I am still describing the rules of the dialect used by educated speakers of English
in the United States.




Introduction

xvii

Grammar Terminology
You will find that some of the terminology used in this book is not consistent with
that found in other books. In fact, almost no two books use the exact same grammar terminology. (Sorry to break that news to you.) For example, I have found that
the number of verb tenses ranges from two to twelve (I chose three), depending on
the source.
Not only does terminology vary, but often the analyses of sentence structures

does as well. In this book, I strive for consistency and keep to the basics of English
language structure. For those of you who plan to teach, you should be able to apply
what you learn here to any grammar book that you use in the future.
Even the term “grammar” has a range of definitions. Some books use grammar
as a broad term that encompasses punctuation, structural patterns, word formation
patterns, sound systems, and more; others books are more restrictive. I use the term
“grammar” to cover the terminology associated with grammar concepts, sentence
patterns, and punctuation.
Essential Grammar for Today’s Writers, Students, and Teachers focuses on the
function of the grammatical unit in the sentence, not its form. By contrast, you
may have found that some books look primarily at the form, not the function. For
example, in school, you probably learned that a noun is a person, place, or thing,
right? So you would analyze the word “classroom” as a noun (thing). But what
about the sentence “He had a great classroom experience”? Is “classroom” still a
noun? If we are examining the function of a word, “classroom” would be labeled
an adjective because it is modifying the noun “experience.”
What about the word “jogging” in the sentence “Jogging is my hobby”? “Jogging” looks like a verb, but is it functioning as a verb in this sentence? No, it is the
subject, and so it functions as a noun (a gerund).
In this book, we will look at words in context, and we will analyze them by their
functions within that context. (Your awareness of this approach is so important that
I will mention it numerous times.) By studying grammar, you gradually will discover new ways to think about sentence structure. Punctuation plays an important
role in clarifying that structure; therefore, I also point out important punctuation
rules throughout the book.

Organization of the Book
Let’s discuss what lies ahead. The book is organized into five chapters. We start
small with word classes (also known as parts of speech) in Chapter 1 and end
with larger constructions in Chapter 5—sentences with two or more clauses (each
clause having its own subject and verb). Each chapter builds on the content of the
previous chapters. Therefore, it is important to make sure that you have a good

grasp of the material in each chapter before moving on to the next.


xviii

Introduction

Each chapter begins with the important concepts (in bold) that you are expected
to learn. The opening paragraph is followed by a Language Focus box, which
highlights an area of linguistic studies—that is, the study of language—adding an
exciting dimension to the grammar book. (Okay, so I am a little prejudiced about
linguistics because I am a linguist.)
The language focus adds context to the examples and exercises. For instance, in
Chapter 1, the grammar focus is word classes, but the language focus is language
and the brain. A number of the exercises use the topic of Genie, a girl who was
locked in a small room until the age of thirteen. She was forbidden to make any
noise, and so she grew up without language. Linguists wondered whether Genie
would be able to learn language at such an “old” age (supporting or negating the
“use it or lose it” argument). Genie’s story provides an intriguing language topic
for the exercises.
The language focus is reinforced by a number of Did you know? boxes. These
give you a closer look at some interesting linguistic topics. Many of them have
links to websites that provide more detailed information. The story of Genie is
reinforced by a Did you know? box that provides links to short videos of her and
about her.
In Chapter 4, the grammar focus is verbals (gerunds, participles, and infinitives),
while the language focus is on language acquisition. To support the learning of
verbals, a number of the examples refer to research being conducted on primates.
Some researchers believe that primates can learn language—a controversial but
fascinating topic. They seek to prove this by showing primates using symbols, sign

language, and keyboards (a type of sign language). In a Did you know? box, you
can follow a link to a well-known primate research lab that shows a chimpanzee
communicating with her handlers. Another link shows Koko, a gorilla who lives
at the Maui Ape Preserve, signing her sadness over the death of her cat (All Ball
became road kill). Interestingly, some researchers argue that if primates are taught
language, they may be able to develop other advanced cognitive skills (a Planet of
the Apes scenario?).
After the Language Focus box, each chapter is divided into sections based on
the major grammar concepts being covered (e.g., nouns, verbs, adjectives, gerunds). A short overview of the concepts is followed by an introduction to the organization of the discussions; a number of subheadings break up the concepts into
smaller units.
Numerous exercises throughout the chapters help you practice what you are
learning. These are followed by summary exercises at the end in the Chapter
Review. As the material becomes more challenging, there will be more exercises
to give you added opportunities to engage with the material and check your comprehension. At the end of the book, you can find the Answers to Exercises, which
provides answers to the first five in each exercise. Also provided are a list of Hyperlinks, a useful Glossary of the terminology used in this book, and an Index to
help you navigate to various subjects. Throughout the book, important terms and
major headings are in bold, and examples are in italics.




Introduction

xix

What You Will Not Find in This Book
Let me briefly address what elements are not included in this book because there
are reasons for their elimination. You will not find evidence of the grammar police
trying to enforce the prescriptive rules of grammar. I realize that there are many
ways of speaking and writing, and we choose the appropriate level of formality or

informality based on our audience and communication goals. I am simply providing you with the structures and terminology of English grammar based on native
speaker usage.
You will not find a highly academic tone in this text. My goal is to communicate
with you as I communicate with my students in the classroom. I may break the rules
of formal academic writing, for example, by using a contraction, like I’m doing right
now. Contractions are grammatical, but their usage in formal writing is discouraged
because they give an informal tone to the text. My goal is to present grammar concepts not as a series of disjointed items but rather as an ongoing discussion that
allows you to build on what you already know. With more knowledge, you can make
grammatical choices that fit with what you are trying to achieve in your text.
You will not find a comprehensive examination of all grammar concepts, all
exceptions to rules, or all of the possible sentence patterns of English. I made some
difficult decisions about which grammar concepts to exclude from this book and
what exceptions to point out. For instance, you will not diagram a sentence (although I do think there is a place for diagramming in some classrooms). As a result
of such decisions, you are not paying for a book that covers too much material for
a one-semester course.
Essential Grammar for Today’s Writers, Students, and Teachers is designed to
give you the basic and most important grammar terms and structures. Providing
you with the essential foundation, it empowers you to continue to explore more
advanced grammar concepts if needed and according to your interest level.

What I Think About Grammar
Even after twenty-plus years, I am continually amazed at how interesting grammar
study can be. I learn something every semester from the questions that students ask
and the knowledge and insight that they bring to the discussions. Plus, I can always
use the brain massage that I get when I investigate a perplexing grammar problem.
Finally, please take advantage of this book. Use it to build confidence in your
own ability to teach or use grammar for professional and personal purposes. I hope
you gain a new interest in grammar or at least develop a new respect for it as a
topic worthy of intellectual pursuit.

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Commonly Used Abbreviations
There are a number of terms abbreviated in this book with acronyms or shortened
forms. I provide explanations within the text, but here is another reference point
for those terms:
ADJadjective/adjectival
ADVadverb/adverbial
DO
direct object
FANBOYS coordinating conjunctions—for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
IO
indirect object
IV
intransitive verb
LV
linking verb
Nnoun
NP
noun phrase
OC
object complement
OP
object of preposition
Ppreposition
PA
predicate adjective
PN

predicate nominative
PP
prepositional phrase
PROpronoun
PST
pronoun substitution test
TV
transitive verb
Vverb
VCT
verb conjugation test
Ved
past tense form of verb (e.g., walked, ate)
Ven
past participle verb form (e.g., walked, eaten)
Ving
present participle verb form (e.g., walking, eating)
VP
verb phrase
*
indicates that the sentence is considered ungrammatical
?
indicates grammaticality is questionable

xxi


1
Word Classes
In case you did not read the introduction (if possible, please go back and do so), let

me quickly point out one of the features of this book before you get started. At the
beginning of each chapter, you will see a Language Focus box, which may seem
a little out of place at first glance. However, this box is very important as it sets up
the language focus for the chapter. Its purpose is to provide interesting context for
the grammar examples and exercises. You will also see a number of Did you know?
boxes that include relevant and engaging facts (and many links) about language.
The term “linguistics” is used throughout this book to refer to the study of language. As students of grammar, you are budding linguists! Okay, you are now
ready to proceed.
This chapter focuses on the major word classifications. These classifications
traditionally were referred to as the eight parts of speech, but they are now called
word classes. Understanding these classifications is critical to your success in
this course. Important grammatical concepts to learn in this chapter are noun,
adjective, pronoun, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.

Language Focus: Language and the Brain
Researchers in the fields of psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics investigate how languages are learned, lost, produced, understood, and stored in
the brain. Some of the questions that these linguists ask include: How do we
learn a first or second language? How do our short- and long-term memories affect language processing? What processes are involved in making the
sounds that form words? Where do we store word meaning, and how do we
access this information? How do we take a series of words and get meaning
from them?

Before we begin our exploration of these individual classes of words, it is important to look at the bigger picture—the sentence. Using traditional terminology,
the sentence is divided into two parts: the subject and the predicate. Sentences
need these two parts (the exception being a command with an understood subject,
e.g., “Sit down”), and, for the most part, they must be in this order:
3


4

Chapter 1 / Word Classes
Brains evolve.
subjectpredicate

Above, the subject is Brains, and the predicate is evolve. The predicate contains at
least a verb. No matter how long it is, a grammatical sentence must have a recognizable subject and predicate:
The complex human brain has stimulated much research into its design.

subject
predicate
In the example above, the subject is The complex human brain, and the predicate
is has stimulated much research into its design, with has stimulated as the verb.
Following traditional terminology, brain would be considered the simple subject within the complete subject (The complex human brain), and has stimulated
would be the simple predicate within the complete predicate (has stimulated
much research into its design).
In more contemporary approaches, the terminology differs slightly. The sentence is divided into the subject noun phrase and the verb phrase:

head noun head verb


↓ ↓
The complex human brain has stimulated much research into its design.
subject noun phrase

verb phrase
A subject noun phrase must have a head noun (brain in the above sentence), and
the verb phrase must contain at least a head verb, also referred to as the main verb
(stimulated in the sentence above). In this book, we will use the terms subject
noun phrase, head noun, verb phrase, and head verb.

As mentioned in the introduction, this book classifies words by their function
in a sentence. This means that we will always consider the function rather than
the form of the word. To do so, the word must have context. For example, the
word “human” has a noun form, but in the subject noun phrase shown above (The
complex human brain), human functions as an adjective describing what kind of
brain (a human brain, not a monkey brain). You will get a better understanding of
function versus form analysis as we move through this chapter.

Nouns
The traditional definition of a noun is that it names a person, place, thing, or idea.
That definition is sometimes useful, but it eventually will lead you astray. Instead,
we will look at some tests that will help you identify nouns. First, let’s review some
of the terminology associated with nouns.




Nouns

5

In traditional grammar, the major classifications of nouns are common and
proper, count and noncount. Common nouns are not capitalized (language,
brain, symbols). Proper nouns are capitalized, and they are, for example, names
of specific people (Jong, Eduardo, President Obama), places (Budapest, the
Vatican, the Center for Applied Linguistics), or events (Hanukkah, Christmas,
Mardi Gras).
The terms count and noncount refer to nouns that can be counted (one brain,
two brains) and those that cannot (*one oxygen, *two oxygens; *one ice, *two
ices). (The asterisk is used throughout this book to indicate language that would be

considered ungrammatical by a native speaker.) Count nouns have both singular
forms and plural forms (brain, brains; neuron, neurons; wish, wishes, etc.) and can
be used with numbers (two brains; 1,000,000 neurons; three wishes). Noncount
nouns (also called mass nouns) do not have plural forms and cannot be counted,
but they can be used with words such as “little” and “much” (little oxygen, much
ice, much fluency, etc.).
How do you know whether a word is a noun? It is easy if the word is a count
noun because it will have both singular and plural forms (language/languages), and
you can put a determiner (a, an, or the) or a number (one, two, three, etc.) in front
of it (a language, the language, two languages). You can ONLY do this to nouns.
(Note that there may be one or more adjectives between the determiner or number
and the noun—for example, “the difficult comprehensive exams.”)
The challenge is that mass nouns and most proper nouns do not have different
singular and plural forms, and you cannot always use determiners or numbers with
them. For example, you cannot make “milk” or “honesty” plural (*milks, *honesties) or put a determiner (a, an, or the) in front of “honesty” (*the/a honesty is
important). But you can put “the” in front of “milk” (The milk turned sour). Even
“honesty” could take a determiner in certain contexts: “The honesty of her testimony was questioned.”
The ability to change a noun from singular to plural and to use a determiner or
number in front of it are just two tests that can be used for recognizing a large number of nouns, but obviously, more noun tests are needed. These will be discussed
later in this chapter. In the meantime, let’s practice identifying nouns by using the
singular/plural and determiner tests.
Exercise 1.1 Getting a Grip on Nouns
Find and underline all of the nouns in the following sentences by using the
singular/plural and determiner tests. The number of nouns in the first five
sentences is indicated at the end of each sentence.